Saturday, April 19, 2014

Please welcome Seth Skorkowsky to The Qwillery as part of the 2014 Debut Author Challenge Interviews. Dämoren was published on April 14, 2014 by Ragnarok Publications.

TQ: Welcome to The Qwillery. When and why did you start writing?

Seth: I’ve always been a storyteller. It’s in my blood. I'd written some, but I didn’t start formally writing until just after college. I had moved away from my friends, and decided it was something I should do.

TQ: Are you a plotter or a pantser?

Seth: I’d say 30% Plotter 70% Pantser. My writing usually starts with a few random scenes, usually opening chapters, but I have no plot to speak-of. With Dämoren I was into chapter 2 before I knew what the book was really about. By Chapter 5 I had a semblance of a story arc plotted, and then followed that.

TQ: What is the most challenging thing for you about writing? Where do you write?

Seth: Keeping motivated though the rough parts. I visualize chapters or scenes as little snippets, but then realize the hardest part is the little segues between them. Getting those out in a natural way is the hardest. I write at home, but I create the story when I go for walks.

TQ: Who are some of your literary influences? Favorite authors?

Seth: That’s a tough one. My non-writing friends can list a favorite author, but I can’t. My favorite author for style is Clive Barker, for brilliance, William Gibson, and for basic pleasure reading, I’m a Brandon Sanderson fan-boy.

TQ: Describe Dämoren in 140 characters or less.

Seth: I’m terrible at this, but here goes: “Dämoren is a story of a self-discovery, sacrifice, and trust, mixed with fantastical horror and kick-ass action.”

TQ: Tell us something about Dämoren that is not in the book description.

Seth: My main character Matt has several abilities associated with being demon-bound. Among them, he can speak and understand all spoken languages.

TQ: What inspired you to write Dämoren?

Seth: I’d had an idea for a magic gun set in a world where monsters are actually demonic possessions for several years, but I was busy writing historic fantasy. After finally accepting that my first book was just a practice novel, I decided to throw caution to the wind and try something completely different.

TQ: What sort of research did you do for Dämoren?

Seth: I learned to shoot a handgun, for one. I was terrible at first, but now it’s a full-blown hobby. I also heavily researched 19th century revolvers and gunsmiths in order to make Dämoren as real as possible. I did a lot of research on monster folklore. I wanted to make my creatures more old-world and less like how modern interpretations have made them.

TQ: Why did you choose to write an Urban Fantasy? Do you want to write in any other genres or sub-genres?

Seth: I chose Urban Fantasy as a break from historic fantasy. I also write pulpy sword and sorcery stories.

TQ: Who was the easiest character to write and why? The hardest and why? Who is your favorite good 'guy', bad 'guy' or ethically ambiguous character in Dämoren?

Seth: Matt was the easiest for me to write. So much of myself is in him (except for the parts where he can actually motivate himself to exercise). Malcolm Romero was simultaneously my favorite and the hardest. Malcolm is a conflict character. He does not trust Matt and makes life with the Valducans extremely difficult for him. I wanted to give him depth and ended up really liking him, which made it difficult for him to be such a jerk.

TQ: Give us one or two of your favorite lines from Dämoren. (PG-13 please)

Seth: Wow, that’s harder than I would have thought (especially keeping it PG-13 and Spoiler free ;-) ). But these come to mind:

“The man, wearing an olive green coat, stepped inside, holding some odd mating of a bowie knife and the biggest handgun in the world.”

and

“She fell to her knees. The skin along her spine swelled and split open, revealing a nest of finger-length cilia, writhing like pale maggots.”

TQ: What's next?

Seth: I have two sword and sorcery thief collections coming out later this year from Rogue Blades Entertainment. MOUNTAIN OF DAGGERS followed by SEA OF QUILLS. Think James Bond meets The Gray Mouser. I’m also currently writing a sequel to DÄMOREN entitled HOUNACIER.

Fourteen years ago a pack of wendigos killed Matt Hollis’ family and damned his soul. Now, Matt is a demon hunter armed with a holy revolver named Dämoren.

After a violent series of murders leaves only fifty holy weapons in the world, Matt is recruited by the Valducans, an ancient order of demon hunters. Many of the knights do not trust him because he is possessed. When sabotage and assassinations begin, the Valducans know there is a spy in their ranks, and Matt becomes the core of their suspicions. Desperate to prove himself, and to protect Dämoren, Matt fights to gain their trust and discover the nature of the entity residing within him.

Raised in the swamps and pine forest of East Texas, Seth Skorkowsky always dreamed of being a writer. He gravitated to the darker sides of fantasy, preferring horror and pulp heroes over knights in shining armor.

His debut novel, Dämoren will be released in 2014 by Ragnarok Publications. Seth will also be releasing two sword and sorcery rogue collections, Mountain of Daggers and Sea of Quills, through Rogue Blades Entertainment in 2014.

When not writing, Seth enjoys tabletop role-playing games, shooting sports, and traveling the world with his wife.

Search This Blog

Subscribe To The Qwillery

Subscribe Via Email

2018 Debut Author Challenge

2018 Speculative Fiction Debuts Board

FTC Notification

In accordance with the FTC Guidelines for blogging and endorsements, The Qwillery would like everyone to know that most books that are reviewed at the The Qwillery are provided for free by the publisher or author unless otherwise noted.